Kamo kamo squash - early grower

[earlypea]

Just wanted to share the early, rather rampant growth of my kamo kamo.  I find this most surprising for a winter squash, seems to be very tolerant of the erratic UK weather and is growing more like a marrow.  From a distance it looks like I planted a few of them.

Please excuse the weeds; I put this in a B grade squash bed up my rear end because it seemed geriatric when I planted it out and then the stem swivelled round and split on the way to the allotments so I thought it was definitely a gonna.  Beyond that about a week after planting out the cold weather arrived and I cloched it for a couple of days but it was too big and getting scorched so it had to make do with the wind and the cold.

It's all bunched up in the middle because I decided to play with it and trail it around in a circle with metal pins, like I saw Joy Larkham doing on GW once, then I changed my mind because it looks kind of prim and uncomfortable and thought let it roam freely  ???.

[earlypea]

[Psi (Pronounced 'Si'!)]

looks good on your rear end!

[earlypea]

I think the preposition used was 'up' - you're very polite  ;)

[galina]

Just wanted to share the early, rather rampant growth of my kamo kamo.  I find this most surprising for a winter squash, seems to be very tolerant of the erratic UK weather and is growing more like a marrow.  

It looks lovely and very lush.  There is a reason why it looks more like a marrow rather than a winter squash.  And that is, because it is.  Winter Squash are mostly cucurbita maxima.  Kamo Kamo is a cucurbita pepo, the same species as marrows, courgettes and acorn squashes.

The acorn squashes can be stored for a few months like winter squashes and so can this cultivar.  Long Pie is another variety that is intended for storage.

I hope it makes sense now why this 'winter squash' looks and grows like a summer squash.  If you are growing for seed, this one will cross with every courgette, marrow and halloween squash, so needs to be isolated/handpollinated.

[Digeroo]

Looks great have been wanting to grow this variety where did you get the seeds.

[earlypea]

thanks Galina - that does explain it.  As none of the winter squashes I'm familiar with are from Curcubita Pepo family I was quite surprised by its looks and habit.

I got it from rareseeds.com Digeroo, postage is quite reasonable $3 I think, but I am planning to save seeds (I promised the seed circle  ;) ) - I've got two of the plants on the go so there should be plenty.  Ask me later for some.

[Jeannine]

Galina, I am sorry but I don't understand your explanation,re most winter squash are  maxima. You are right about the acorns,and Kumi Kumi being pepo, also those  varieties classed as "vegetable"  marrows are in there too, but many of the pepo family  grow to quite a size and can be on very  lengthy  vines as well as  as some which are more bushy. It includes all of the summer squash but also  many of the  pumpkins (actually those ones which are defined as defined as true pumpkins )eg Connecticut Field , Howden, Jack o Lantern  and they don't grow like summer squash at all, in fact many are much bigger than some maximas. Gold Nugget is a maxima but only grows to 2 pounds . The maxima group also includes  the rest of the marrows and the rest of the pumpkins . On the other hand, the very popular butternuts are not maxima but moshchata  and many of the squash in that family have very spreading vines.

I don't think one can classify a family of squash by size and growth , there are too many contradictions.

Other well known pepo  winter squash are,the spaghettis,most of the hulless ones, and all of the delicata types, some bush and some vining,

[galina]

Galina, I am sorry but I don't understand your explanation,re most winter squash are  maxima.

I don't think one can classify a family of squash by size and growth , there are too many contradictions.

Jeannine, I did not classify a family of squash by size and growth.  I merely commented on a picture.  I gave an explanation why a variety that Earlypea expected to look like a typical winter squash, like Crown Prince for example, actually looks like a marrow.
 
Crown Prince and other cucurbita maximas are typically sold as 'winter squashes' in seed catalogues here.  But when British gardeners speak of a 'marrow', they mean a cucurbita pepo marrow and not something like a Boston Marrow (which is a cucurbita maxima).  The plant and the leaves in the picture look exactly like a healthy trailing Marrow (British useage of the word).  I think confusion over squash terms on both sides of the Atlantic has been the cause of this misunderstanding.

Earlypea, I am glad my answer gave you an explanation that made sense.

[Jeannine]

Thank you, I see where you are coming from now.XX Jeannine

[Digeroo]

The Kamo Kamo comes from New Zealand I am interested to know whether the Maori people brought it across the atlantic with them.   Do other Polynesian people have marrows?   

I have some seeds of a Mandan squash that is also a Pepo marrow. 

[earlypea]

It made perfect sense to me Galina  - and your explanation about British parlance is spot on.

In fact until I started growing vegetables myself I had no idea you could grow anything more interesting than a 'marrow' or boring, old, green courgettes here at all so it's all quite new to me.